The Earth's Shadow
by Rose-Typhoon12
Summary: Shadow one-shot. Shadow, back on Space Colony Ark wishes to return to Earth out of regret for others. What he discovers shock and amaze him, but gives him a stronger resolve: To keep his promise to Maria. Rated T for violence and language later on.
1. Dissatisfaction

**Chapter 1: Dissatisfaction**

**Location: Space Colony Ark**

Shadow the Hedgehog gazed out onto the Earth from SCA. He longed to be there, back on that vivid planet, enjoying its beauty. His brief visit before hadn't given him the time to fully explore it. He could still remember the open blue sky, the lush green trees, and the sparkling lakes…

Beautiful.

It had been two years since he had set foot on the ground there.

The black hedgehog closed his eyes, and began to recall his last few minutes on the Blue Planet…

**Location: Spagonia, Eggman's Base (2 years ago)**

"_W-what?" Shadow had whispered, not fully comprehending what he had been told. The evil Doctor Eggman, who sat high above him in his Egg Carrier, grinned a toothy smile._

"_You heard me, Shadow!" He chuckled darkly. "In order for you to help protect this planet, you had better return to outer space, where you properly belong…"_

"_Shadow!" screamed Rouge, who had been standing somewhat further away. "He must be lying, please don't listen to him! You…you CAN'T go!"_

_Shadow grimaced. "She's right. How do I know that you're not lying to me, doctor?"_

_Eggman laughed harshly. _

"_Well, I suppose you wouldn't believe me right off, Shadow. This is why I brought some…persuasion."_

_The ebony hedgehog cocked his head. "Persuasion? What do you…?" But before he could finish, Eggman pressed a small button on his Egg Carrier. Shadow heard a strange noise from behind him, and he spun around. His crimson eyes widened in shock._

_What he saw, was unbelievable._

_A tall glass pillar had risen out of the flooring, holding two world-known anthros. A familiar blue hedgehog placed his fists on the glass the instant he saw Eggman. He began to beat on the pillar, cursing violently. He had scrapes and bruises all over his body, he must've really taken a beating, Shadow thought, somewhat amused. He couldn't help it._

_The cobalt hedgehog continued to kick and punch the pillar, shouting several threats to Eggman, claiming he'd break free shortly. Eggman paid no mind however, for he simply watched Shadow._

_Shadow then called to the ticked-off hero. "Sonic! Regain your composure!" _

_Sonic jumped at the sound of Shadow's voice, having not noticed he'd been there. He turned swiftly._

"_S-shadow? Wha… what're you doing here?" _

_Shadow smirked. "I might ask _you _the same question, hero."_

_Sonic gritted his teeth._

_Suddenly, the other anthro behind Sonic came into view, she'd just woken up, it appeared. She quietly whispered the hero's name. Sonic's jade eyes widened. He'd apparently forgotten she was there, and he spun around._

_Shadow saw the pink hedgehog stand up weakly, and look around. Sonic grabbed her hand. _

"_You okay, Ames?"_

_Amy Rose nodded slowly. "Yup, I'm pretty sure I'm fine…" She then noticed Eggman, causing her to scream. Sonic cringed. The deranged doctor simply grinned, then turned to a stunned Shadow._

"_Shadow. You now have a choice to make."_

_The black hedgehog snapped to, and turned to him with a questioning expression. "Yes?"_

"_You have a Chaos Emerald, do you not?" _

_Shadow looked down. Yes, he currently had the cyan Chaos Emerald… he debated on saying so, but then looked up slowly. "Yes, Doctor. This is correct." Eggman smiled. "Leave using this emerald. Use Chaos Control! And go back to Space Colony Ark where you came from. Or I shall kill these two." He pointed towards the glass pillar. Amy's eyes widened with fear, and Sonic just smirked playfully._

"_Oh, really?" the azure hero laughed. "I'd really love to see you try, Egghead!" Eggman growled lowly. "Do NOT test me, hedgehog!" And with that, he pulled out a strange device that resembled a T.V. remote. Sonic laughed. "Ha! Whaddya gonna do, Egghead? Change the channel? Ooh, I'm SHAKING!" _

_Without a word, Eggman pressed a red button on the remote. _

_Shadow saw a spark of electricity shoot through the glass pillar._

_Sonic dropped to his knees suddenly, cringing. Amy fell to the floor and let out a sharp scream. _

_Shadow turned to Eggman with a shocked expression. How did he manage to capture Sonic, anyway? He wondered. Then he realized:_

_He must've threatened the girl somehow. Sonic always seemed fond of her, to a degree._

_Eggman giggled slyly. "I'd watch your mouth, hero."_

_Sonic opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when he heard Amy sobbing in pain. "So this is what you meant…" Shadow whispered. "Yes." Eggman said coldly. "If I destroy the world's hero now, I can rebuild the Earth as my own, beautiful Empire. And what I meant in saying earlier about your decision in leaving was literal. You can 'save' the world by leaving. For if you do…" he hesitated. "I'll let your counterpart and his girlfriend go."_

_Shadow, not trusting him, looked to Sonic, who was now laying on his back, breathing heavily. That electric shock must've proved to be stronger than anticipated. Amy laid next to him, hand on his, her breathing in perfect unison. She appeared to be sleeping. _

_Sonic lifted his head slowly. And apparently, he was to hurt to speak, for he mouthed: 'Don't trust him…' _

_But Shadow was no longer sure._

_Eggman had pulled this trick (or at least a relatively similar one) before, except with Rouge. And Eggman had kept his promise then. He'd set her free. But then again, this was different. Sonic was Eggman's mortal enemy. Now that Eggman had him right where he wanted him, he may not be so generous this time around. Because of this indecisiveness, he turned to Eggman._

"_What makes you so sure I'd believe you?"_

_The evil doctor shrugged. "It's your call, Shadow. But I'd hurry if I were you. Need I refresh your memory?" He rested his thumb on the button again. Sonic, who had been watching, mouthed: 'No..' _

_Eggman grinned and pressed the button. _

_Sonic gritted his teeth to avoid screaming. Amy awoke with a start, then began to shriek in pain. Sonic grasped her hand tightly, as if attempting to comfort her, despite the unbearable pain. When the electricity surge ended, Amy collapsed into Sonic's arms, who faltered. Rouge, who'd been silent all this time, yelled to Shadow: "Don't just stand there, you idiot! Do something before he kills them!" Shadow sighed. He again turned to Sonic, who'd began another tongue-lashing for Eggman with tear-filled eyes. Shadow could not decide whether these tears were from pain, or out of concern for his unconscious lover, who laid motionless in his arms._

_Shadow turned away and locked eyes with Rouge._

"_I'm sorry…" He mouthed slowly. Rouge's azure eyes widened. She knew exactly what he planned to do._

"_No!" she screamed. "Shadow, don't do this!" _

_But the ebony anthro paid no attention to the distressed bat. He could no longer bear the sight of the torture of his cobalt counterpart, no matter how much he may have deserved it. He held the cyan Chaos Emerald high above his head. Eggman noticed this and grinned._

_Sonic looked to Shadow, sensing the jewel that was connected with his soul, and gasped. He knew what Shadow was doing._

_He was leaving him and Amy there to die._

"_No!" he shouted through the glass, but Shadow did not listen. However, the two hedgehogs did make eye contact. Sonic growled. He couldn't believe Shadow had actually trusted Eggman…_

'_I hate you.' he mouthed. _

_Shadow smirked, as he had expected nothing less from his counterpart. _

"_Chaos…Control!" And in a flash of cyan light, he was gone._

**Location: Space Colony Ark (present)**

And now, Shadow wondered, if he'd done the right thing that day. He left to _save_ Sonic and Amy, but what if Eggman really _had _lied? What if he had killed them right after his departure? If the supersonic hero really _was_ dead, Shadow no longer wished to see what had become of the Earth, despite its alluring beauty. He sighed.

"_But looks have always proven to be misleading…"_

_**To be continued…**_

Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed chapter one! Don't worry, more is to come. Please R&R, and I beg of you to take it easy… this is my first story! See you around, the best has yet to come! J


	2. Promises, Promises

**Chapter 2: Promises, Promises**

**Location: Space Colony Ark**

Shadow decided he no longer just wanted to know if he had made the right choice, he _needed_ to know. It had literally became his obsession. For some unknown reason, he desired to know if the supersonic hero had made it out of that base alive that fateful day. The ebony hedgehog had made several attempts to leave, but alas, all were failures. Most of these failures were brought on by Shadow remembering the laws of physics. Suffocation was the greater enemy here. And worse, this had been going on for _two years. _

"Damn it!" He screamed, kicking the wall. "This is torturous!" He stormed down one of the many corridors Space Colony Ark had to offer.

"Urgh, to hell with this! I should've realized this two freakin' years ago… that I wouldn't be able to get out of here…ugh, I'm such an idiot…"

In the middle of this rant, Shadow hadn't noticed that he'd began to walk down a new hallway. He looked around. "What is this? Am I somewhere different? I've been in this hellhole for two years, and I've never been down this corridor?" He bent down and held his head, a sharp pain suddenly running through it. He hissed.

"For the love of God, why do I HAVE TO BE HERE?" His headache worsened. Shadow couldn't stand this place. Not after all the horrible things that had happened here. It's why he left in the first place. And now he was nearly afraid of it. And the Ultimate Lifeform didn't want to have fear of anything. He was the fearless one! Why was it that this place scared him so? It had to be the traumatic event of losing…Maria. Ever since then, Shadow had been wary of this place. He growled.

"The past is the past. This is ridiculous. I shouldn't be frightened. I'm not like that stupid rabbit girl that Faker was friends with. I'm Shadow the Hedgehog for God's sake!" But nevertheless, Shadow's head was throbbing. He couldn't take this kind of lifestyle anymore.

_Or he was going to go insane._

He passed hallway after hallway, room after room. Until one caught his eye.

He skated down it to its end. He nearly smiled at his discovery, but of course, it did not suit his demeanor.

"An…air lock? Perhaps this would prove useful to me…" Shadow thought out loud. He placed his fingers on the glass that separated him from freedom. He nearly opened it when a thought crossed his mind.

_I may not survive an atmospheric reentry. In fact, it's more than likely I'd perish. But…_

"_Shadow!" _

The black anthro flinched at her voice.

"_Shadow, promise me! You'll help the people of Earth get the help and compassion they truly deserve! Please, Shadow, I beg of you!"_

Tears nearly filled the Ultimate Lifeform's scarlet eyes. "M-Maria…"

He wanted to kick himself for nearly forgetting. That oh so important promise he made. One that he vowed to keep forever, until his dying breath. He stopped any chances of weeping, and sighed heavily. "Maria… I fully intend to keep my promise…" He threw open the air lock's door.

"_Even if I must perish in the process."_

He stepped inside, and set his destination. **Spagonia Village**, he typed.

He pressed the button that read: **Release. **The negative G's made his stomach churn when the pod began to freefall. He shut his eyes tightly as he entered the unknown. After a moment or so, he opened them again only to see stars, and the blue planet approaching. He sighed sadly. He used to think that the stars were beautiful, but now they seemed dull and lifeless.

Just like him.

Shadow closed his eyes again and prayed. Prayed he would see the Earth's surface again, prayed that it was now a world of peace and tranquility. Also, he prayed that on the day of his departure, that Sonic and Amy had escaped. (Because now he highly doubted that Eggman would've willfully set them free.) And of course, he prayed that he'd be able to keep his promise to Maria, the closest friend he ever had.

The pod suddenly grew warmer. Shadow winced. He realized that he had been pulled into the Earth's gravitational pull. This was the big moment. Eventually, the pod grew so unbearably hot that Shadow's gloves began to singe. He gritted his teeth in pain. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. He chuckled a strange laugh that would have sent a shiver down anyone's spine, perhaps even the Blue Blur himself.

"I m-must make it to Earth…In fact, I WILL! I'm Shadow the Hedgehog! I am UNSTOPABLE!" his chuckle grew into a laugh, a maniacal one.

"Don't worry, Maria! This is all for YOU!"

But soon that laughter fell to a mere giggle, finally draining to a whisper.

This trip had been harder than Shadow had thought. And the pain was catching up to him. And he STILL hadn't landed.

He grinned softly as darkness began to play with his consciousness. "When I wake up…I'll make sure that Maria's Wish comes to pass…!"

His body was now numb with pain, and his gloves had completely burned off.

He sighed contently as the darkness finally ended their games and consumed him. And Shadow knew no more.

_**To be continued…**_

Here's chapter two guys, hope you love it! Stay tuned for more!

-RT12 3


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